I spent five years at Forbes writing about business and leadership, attracting nearly one million unique visitors to Forbes.com each month. While here, I assistant edited the annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women package and helped launch and grow ForbesWoman.com. I've appeared on CBS, CNBC, MSNBC and E Entertainment and speak often at conferences and events on women's leadership topics. I graduated summa cum laude from New York University with degrees in journalism and sociology and was honored with a best in business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) in 2012. My work has appeared in Businessweek, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Aesthete and Acura Style. I live in New York City with my husband and can be found on Twitter @Jenna_Goudreau, Facebook, and Google+.

Ashley Judd Slams Media For Body Shaming Women

Actress Ashley Judd has managed a rare and important feat. She turned cruel and inaccurate criticism about her appearance into a teachable moment, calling out both men and women for participating in a system of patriarchy that objectifies women, hyper-sexualizes girls and degrades women’s sexuality as they age.

“If this conversation about me is going to be had, I will do my part to insist that it is a feminist one, because it has been misogynistic from the start,” Judd wrote in a column on The Daily Beast, which was published yesterday afternoon.

Judd, 43, who has been acting in movies and on TV since the early ‘90s and now stars in new ABC series Missing, became the subject of tabloid speculation in March after she appeared on a Canadian talk show with a “puffier-than-normal face.” Several media outlets suggested she’d had plastic surgery that made her look worse and unnatural, despite that her rep Cara Tripicchio called the rumors “unequivocally not true.” Tripicchio explained that Judd had been battling a sinus infection and flu and was on a heavy dose of medication that likely caused facial swelling.

Now, with her thoughtful rebuttal on The Daily Beast, Judd has managed to turn the scrutiny around and effectively change the conversation, writing:

I choose to address it because the conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about.

With nearly 100,000 followers, Judd identifies herself on Twitter as an “Author. Feminist. Wife. Advocate. Public Speaker. Star of Missing, Thursdays on ABC, 10 episodes only, so don’t miss it!” This morning readers rallied behind her on the social media site, calling her column “eloquent,” “thoughtful,” “brilliant” and “right on.”

Judd spends a great deal of time in her piece emphasizing that women are just as culpable as men for condemning and demeaning women—even pitting them against each other—based on their appearance.

That women are joining in the ongoing disassembling of my appearance is salient. Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate. It privileges, inter alia, the interests of boys and men over the bodily integrity, autonomy, and dignity of girls and women. It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it. This abnormal obsession with women’s faces and bodies has become so normal that we (I include myself at times—I absolutely fall for it still) have internalized patriarchy almost seamlessly. We are unable at times to identify ourselves as our own denigrating abusers, or as abusing other girls and women. [my bold]

A case in point is that this conversation was initially promulgated largely by women; a sad and disturbing fact.

The piece got an even larger platform this morning when it was discussed on NBC’s Today, with an average 6 million viewers daily,by a panel that included Star Jones, Donnie Deutsch and Dr. Nancy Snyderman. “When your trade is your public image, beauty and public persona,” commented Deutsch, “you’re going to come under scrutiny. It’s like a hedge-fund billionaire…is going to come under more scrutiny for trades.”

“The dialogue is constructed so that our bodies are a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation,” Judd wrote, “as if they belong to others—and in my case, to the actual public.” She acknowledged the inevitable argument that because she is a celebrity she has forfeited the right to a private life, saying it would need to be addressed at another time.

Readers: Did Judd do the right thing by standing up to critics? Do you agree that we’re a society that routinely values, judges and objectifies women based on their appearance? If so, are both men and women equally responsible?

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hey ashley you look terrible,maybe it all the lies and betrayal you have done to your fellow kentuckians,you were raised on coal mine money now you are siding with anti coal groups in other states .shame on you ,for as iam concerned me or my family members will never support or view anything that you will ever do .this also applies to your mother and fat sister.you have lost all support and affection that eastern kentuckians had for you ,we are proud of our hard working men and women in the coal industry and buisnesses supported by coal in ky. what a hippercrit and fake person you are. ky blue you are not ,maybe ucla might want you!!!!!!!!

Good for Ashley Judd! Wow! What a very well worded and very intelligent rebuttal to this very disturbing mindset that is so prevalent in our culture. You can see this mindset showing up in all sorts of ways, but one in particular I would like to point out is the mindset highlighted on the infamous “Jersey Shore.” Although this is just a television show, it does reflect the mindset of so many young men and women in our culture, actually it reflects the mindset of men and women of all of ages – On one episode, one of the guys says “Never sh$@ where you eat,” referring to the fact that you don’t “fall in love at Jersey Shore” – what kind of mindset is this?!? – To say that sleeping with a woman, is equivalent to well, i need not say the “s” word again. If you really think about it though, this shows what a horrible opinion guys who buy into that mindset have of women! No woman, no matter if she is a one night stand, should ever allow herself or another woman to be referred to in that regard! Sadly, we women do participate in this mindset all too often when we call other women names or except nasty labels that people place on us for our sexuality/femininity. If these guys actually were made to be responsible for the attitudes they have toward women, it would quickly show that they are simply projecting their own low opinion of themselves onto women, and somehow this has been acceptable to us. We must consider that after all, if a guy thinks of a woman as such a “piece of trash” and still sleeps with her or chooses entertain thoughts of interacting with her sexually, that is a reflection of his weakness of character – that he knowingly involves himself on that level with something he considers to be so “terrible.” (Didn’t intend to hijack the comments, but I do believe this is just another way that the mindset Judd refers to, has shown up in our society).

Yes – allow women to make decisions for themselves . Let them ring – in on vital personal & societal issues . Lke the value of same-sex education in our hyper-sexualized America – or even better , we would want a national referendum representing only U.S. females of voting age , to decide for the future – Our national policy regarding Privacy & Abortion Rights ! An essentially women’s issue – so let women decide ! Life for the unbon or freedom for the professional female .

She did the feminist thing by slamming everyone who does not identify as a feminist. Of course, she especially slams males, which is the favorite feminist past time. All she did was ensure that I will make sure to never change the channel to anything that she is appearing in.

Moreover, she is a hypocrite in spending years enriching herself the very system that she purports to reject. She made millions in front of the camera and made millions off her looks. Now that they are inevitably fading, she hits back. Why didn’t she have as harsh criticism 20 years ago when she was a fresh, young bright face?

If she really cared about inequality and discrimination she would out talking about the plight of impoverished black boys with little to no future hope, other than being shot in the street. Instead she’s on a feminist misandristic rampage over a completely insignificant statement made about a comment about a multi-millionaire actress.

Ms. Judd may be right, when it come to 20-something year olds, but I truly thinks she sells herself short.

I rank women on the following basis, Character, Intelligence, The Ability to communicate and how they carry themselves. Looks doesn’t last forever and some women in entertainment, e.g. Madonna, believes that people want to see her, as they did, thirty-some years ago.

Objectively speaking, I am deeply impressed with Ms. Judd’s character, acting ability, intelligence and I’d sooner take her out to dinner and dancing, then Brooklyn Decker or Kate Upton.

My only negative comment to Ms. Judd, is that she’s probably hanging around the wrong people and tarring the good people as well as the bad, with her brush of frustration.

The media picking apart Judd for looking “puffy” and “done” is really the flip side of a worse truth, which is that if she “looked her age” (whatever that means) she wouldn’t be getting any attention at all. Look at this site (or any other site) and note how few photos of women over age 30 exist (it’s all stock photos depicting models. No real people, unless they’re celebrities). So much of the content here (and everywhere) speaks negatively about women as they enter their forties and especially fifties. (“Madonna’s Mighty Menopausal Comeback,” anyone?)

The fact is, all media zero out women—and men—if their looks can’t be used to sell something. As a contributor to this site, and as a woman over the age of 30, I really hope Forbes will show some leadership and buck the trend. Jenna, can you comment on that?

I agree that the media cycle is a vicious one. My hope is that ForbesWoman is a site that is able to spotlight female leaders and leadership issues in a smart and fair way. We do this annually with the list of the world’s most powerful women (http://www.forbes.com/wealth/power-women) and year around. I’ve also been pleased that Forbes magazine has featured far more women on the cover in the past year than in years before, and I hope it’s a trend that continues.